Captain's corner

By LARRY BLUE

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 1, 2000

It seems there is no shortage of short red grouper. Keeper reds, or even gags, might be another story, especially because the minimum size limit on gag and black grouper now is 22 inches.

Don't be discouraged if all you seem to get is little red grouper, or "shorts." Sorting through the shorts and associated fish might be a pain, but keep with it. It will pay off.

You might have seen those TV shows in which scuba divers feed the fish. At first, the divers feed smaller fish. The activity usually attracts bigger fish. Later, you might notice a monster fish lurking. The small fish move out of this guy's way as he enters. Then he moves in brazenly to feed.

By catching the smaller fish, a chum slick is created on the bottom that attracts bigger fish. If the shorts suddenly stop feeding, you then want to drop down a frisky live bait and hang on. Your chum slick can attract other fish to your boat as well. We were surprised to catch a few king mackerel in the past week. So make sure to keep a flat line out for a passing king, or even a blackfin tuna.

Larry Blue charters the Niki Joe out of Madeira Beach. Call (727) 397-3773, or e-mail at Captlblue@aol.com.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.

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